Why Indian Car Brands Clutter Their Product Portfolio?

[Akash1886]

Friends,

A simple question I am putting forward for your valuable insights here. It is, Why do Indian Car Brands complicate their product portfolio for us customers? All the major automotive brands existing at present in India, have multiple products of same brand to offer in the same segments. For Eg, Maruti Swift and Baleno. Mahindra's TUV 3OO and Nuvo Sport. Upcoming car of TATA i.e Kite 5 and Zest. It feels really confusing to choose from multiple products in same segment. Not only does it lead to cannibalization but creates unnecessary clutter. What do you all think on this?

Regards

Akash

 

[pravin1987]

mainly they assume that customers go by shape design sticker. classic example is
bajaj discover. too much of names and variants killed a successful product. swift baleno is okay. I feel there is a need to encounter i20. But TUV/nnuvosport/bolero is a waste. Tata kite and zest is a need with manza ageing.

 

[type-r]

They want sales. Just sales. If a zest customer goes and buys a Kite5 then still money is in the TATA dealership only. I think its an all out tactic to somehow get the customer to stay within the brand and keep the profits and avoiding the customer to find even a single problem and walking away.

 

[generalmax]

The real reason is the confusion in a buyers mind.An average Indian customer still doesn't know what he wants.So when we have a cluttered portfolio,it is very easy to confuse the consumer and make him buy something from the manufacturer. All this started with the very own Maruti. Alto K10,Wagon R,Celerio ,same engines with different price range. All manufacturers learned it later on.

 

[vikyjoshi]

well it is to confuse the customer. Give them an offering for the budget they have.

If you are strong brand then you can dish out whatever models what ever price and what ever terminology it will get sold. Now how on earth are we to call
a. SCross as an SUV or for that matter Nuvosport, KUV or Breeza as an SUV?
b. what is differentiation of class between Nuvosport and TUV?
c. what is the difference in class for Celerio, Wagon R, Stingray, Ritz, Swift and Baleno. I am sure there is price over lap between celerio top end and baleno base variant.
For a weak brand have to follow to be in the game.

 

[soap]

Let me take Maruti as one example because a lot of my relatives have bought from them. I hope this may explain on why they have so many cars in a one segment

1. Alto 800 - My relative who is a teacher bought his first car and he had financial constraints. He wanted Maruti only and this was his only available choice
2. Alto K10 - My office colleague who just learnt driving felt this car looked better than 800 in terms interiors and so bought this car. Also he didn't want to buy the cheapest car in the showroom. :P
3. Celerio - My office colleague bought this one just for its looks. She thinks it is cute. I hate the car's look and but I realized my tastes are not universal and everybody have their unique choices
4. Wagon R/Stingray - My elderly uncle bought this one just because it is easy to get in and get out
5. Ritz - Another uncle of mine bought this car because he felt this was better built that Swift and other cars
6. Swift - My cousin bought this one because all his friends bought this car

My point is Maruti has the scale and muscle power to give new dresses/bodies for the same heart/engine because there is a in built demand in the market and they are able to generate profit with this system

 

[bhvm]

Buddies,
You are cent percent correct.
The indian Auto scene is cluttered with so-so medicore products. Manufacturers want wide customer base, but rather than upgrading exisiting models, they have added parallel products. This creates confusion, Parts & Inventory issue and so on.

Some examples-
Why nuvosport When you had TUV 300?
Why Baleno besides swift? (In international markets, baleno replaces swift)
Why Grand i10 besides i20?
Why vitara brezza when there was S-cross? It actually even overlaps baleno.

In my opinion, Upgrading & Facelifting the Existing models (As they do in international markets) is a better way to go.

 

[chevrolet]

Cant say. Brands like hyundai also does this. Mahindra is the worst, nuvsport, vibe,tuv 300, are some examples. Maruthi uses same engine in different models.
I visited a maruthi showroom sometime back, never got any 'feeling' looking at the various cars on display. It was like i was in a home appliance shop.

But it helps to retain a undecided buyer on tight budget.

 

[type-r]

Some examples-
Why nuvosport When you had TUV 300?
Why Baleno besides swift? (In international markets, baleno replaces swift)
Why Grand i10 besides i20?
Why vitara brezza when there was S-cross? It actually even overlaps baleno.

In my opinion, Upgrading & Facelifting the Existing models (As they do in international markets) is a better way to go.

See that is a little wrong comparo. Grand i10 is smaller than i20 so it makes sense. The problem Hyundai is facing is between Xcent and i20. People go buy Xcent but end up returning home with an elite i20.

Vitara Brezza is confusing too. Because with the price cut of S Cross, base model S Cross 1.3 or mid too (dont remember the pricing) will clash with top model Brezza and mid model of Ertiga. So somehow Maruti wins. But S cross is not sold in normal maruti dealerships so it misses the fight. So Ertiga or Brezza. Or Ciaz which does the same thing but in a sedan form.

 

[TAUREAN CZAR]

I strongly say NO. Except MARUTI and now MAHINDRA, no other company's profile car can be called CLUTTERED.

Maruti is the only company which has cars again at only one point. That is 3-5L petrol category and Swift and Ritz in Diesels. No where else has the is more number of products. Coz it is the only category it majorly plays in.

Mahindra has placed TUV300 and Nuvo Sport in one category but Bolero is in another price and tax bracket and its target ownership is different.

TATA Motors has placed its cars in different categories. KITE Twins and BOLT-ZEST are two different price brackets as there is a minimum 50K difference between the similar sub-model cars. That is quite a big difference for Indian population seeing the income categories and affordability. Similar difference is also between i10 grand and i20 elite of the Hyundais.